Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Wednesday that he wants former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023) and his son, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, to face criminal charges for “inciting” the U.S. to impose tariffs on the South American country.
“He [Bolsonaro] is being judged for his actions and now I believe he should face more legal proceedings for what he is doing, inciting the United States against Brazil, causing damage to the Brazilian economy and harming Brazilian workers,” said the president in an interview with Reuters agency.
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Lula stated that both Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo should face another judicial process and
be condemned as “traitors to the homeland“, considering that “there is no precedent in history for a President of the Republic and his son, who is a congressman, to go to the U.S. to incite the president against Brazil”.
Between betrayals and interference
Bolsonaro’s son
moved to the U.S. last March, from where he has deployed an agenda focused on getting the support of President Donald Trump to stop the criminal proceedings against his father, who the Justice system accuses of having been part of a failed coup attempt perpetrated in January 2023.
On July 10th, Eduardo Bolsonaro posted on X a
post of
support for Trump’s decision to
impose tariffs on Brazil. He then stated that the American president had been “clear” in explaining his reasons, which include an alleged “persecution” against the former ruler, his family members and his supporters, alleged human rights violations, lack of “freedom of expression” and “free and transparent elections”, accusations that have been denied by Brasilia.
For his part, Da Silva reiterated that the
Brazilian Supreme Federal Court is independent and that it is now prosecuting the former president based on legal evidence and
statements offered by military personnel who worked alongside him.
The legal case against Bolsonaro has become a source of friction with Washington, which used it as an argument to justify the imposition of 50% tariffs against the South American giant. “
This is not a minor interference : it is the US president believing he can dictate the rules to a sovereign country like Brazil”,
Lula pointed out this Wednesday.
